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libraryofgage · 2 months ago

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Been having Secretly Smart Steve thoughts except it's less that his intellect is a secret and more that nobody ever noticed lmao

The initial thought for this is based on my mom's stories about acting like a ditzy airhead in high school but then graduating with honors

Within five minutes of walking into high school Steve definitely clocked that being cool was more important than being smart right? So he didn't really let on that he was good at class stuff and just let people think he was a simple jock

And Steve graduating isn't a huge thing cuz it happens during UD stuff which means they all miss graduation ceremony and just get their degrees later, so it's not like anyone saw the honors tassels that steve was given to wear with his grad gown

And the first real hint is Lucas trying to make a basket and getting frustrated. And Steve is like "here I'll show you" and proceeds to make every throw he makes from anywhere on the court and when Lucas asks how the fuck he does that Steve shrugs and is like "well, i mean, its all angles man"

Later Mike and Will are working on an egg drop project (you know the ones) and getting worked up cuz the eggs keep cracking. Steve has been watching TV or something the whole time and outta nowhere is like "yall are missing shock absorption and proper wind resistance, duh"

Nancy is trying to decode some number based cipher for fun but it's becoming rapidly Not Fun and Steve looks over her shoulder for like two seconds and goes "group the numbers into twos, subtract 18 from each, and then it's the alphabet letter based on the number" and then just walks off

Dustin is taking an engineering class and is having trouble building a bridge cuz it keeps collapsing when he sends a hot wheels car over it. Steve tells him he needs more load-bearing beams and to distribute the weight evenly and Dustin is surprised when it works

And, of course, Eddie sees all of this so one day when Max or Erica ask for help with some geometry homework he takes the worksheet they give him and immediately passes it along to Steve, waves off their disbelief, and sits all smug while Steve explains concepts they'd been missing entirely

#steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things the party #subtle steddie #bc of course #anyway im sure theres more to come but i wanted to share these main thoughts #i do love when a character is smart in ways people didnt expect #like yessssss subvert those preconceived notions #and then the angst potential of course #of steve realizing before meeting eddie and robin that not even nancy really knew he was good at this stuff #and hes wondering if anyone will ever actually know him as more than a jock or king Steve #and then platonic stobin and he blurts it all out cuz truth serum #looking thats all nothing else nothing at all your honor he definitely wasnt staring at steves moles and freckles

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psychotic-nonsense · 2 months ago

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<< || < ||

"I was told."

'By who?'

'Eddie.'

"What are you?"

The thing just... sits there. Unblinking and still. Face still just barely compacted, like that's all it can do, the only amount of emotion it can show. Steve stares back, the burning in his eye returning for reasons he can't pinpoint. Desperation, fear, strain.

"You are still not well," the thing finally answers, slow and quiet. Restrained. Like it's forcing itself to say it.

Steve huffs out a breath, feeling stretched thin. "I just- please?" he begs. "I have to know."

It shakes its head. "You are not well," it repeats.

"Yeah, and I won't be for a while longer, especially if you don't tell me what's going on," Steve spits out, lacking in passion and volume but still standing his ground. "I'm not angry anymore, I'll listen to whatever you say, no questions, just- please."

That last sentence is what gets the thing to relax. Or, at least, for its face to go blank again. It looks off to the side, the pale shapes that are probably the equivalent to its actual eye tracing the wood of the boat. Seems to be thinking on it. Steve waits, not a little impatient.

Finally, the thing sighs, and turns back to Steve. It sets the rag down on whatever it's sitting on, and rests its hands on the edge of the boat. "Your friend," it finally says, "she had a vision of some kind, correct?"

Steve at first thinks about Robin, even glancing at her in confusion. Then the vision part clicks, and he turns back. "Nancy, our other friend, did, yes," he answers carefully.

"She told you it's contents?"

"Mmhm..." Steve's a little worried about what this might be heading towards, but he's finally getting something, so who is he to complain.

"Then you know the history of the world you call the 'Upside Down.'" Its eyes drift off from Steve's before he can nod, still so blank (Steve wonders if he should stop being so focused on that, but compared to the brief memories he has of Eddie, seeing his body, his voice, so unfeeling and monotone in comparison is just... wrong). "How the Human entered the world and took control."

Suddenly, something about the topic feels personal. Steve knows it's talking about Vecna, and nothing about its appearance or tone has changed. But Steve just has a hunch about it-

"I am the original ruler of that world. Or rather, it's spirit."

And wow holy shit he was right but that was not at all what he was expecting.

No time for a crisis or questions, though, because Steve is finally getting what he asked for. An explanation.

"I was something you humans would call a God. I controlled the world, kept the balance. I was the center of a collective mind, so my kind would never be alone, and I could keep them safe. When the Human took over, I was cast aside. Unable to die, I was forced to watch as he turned my world into his twisted vision. Turned the form I used as a body into a monster, took control of my collective and made my kind into enslaved, starving beasts. The Human drained my world of any light, turning it into the dark, stormy place you know. I took refuge in the clouds, becoming the red lightning, trying to light my world back into what it was before. I am too weak to fight the Human alone, now that he has my kind bent to his power."

Okay, this God/spirit thing may not have Eddie's nature, but it sure does have his words. And Steve may not understand most of how anything it's describing works, but this isn't the first time and it sure as hell won't be the last.

"More humans began to enter my world, and the Human would always kill them. I could not understand his anger at his own kind, or the want from other humans to keep coming back. But it gave me an opportunity. I still held some of my power. If I could find a new place to house my collective, I could regain my kind, body, and world."

Steve's starting to see where this is going, and it's turning the sight of the God/spirit thing beside him sour.

"But I am weak, only able to reach the humans when their body was weakened and their minds drifting away. I refused to enslave the same way the Human did, and wanted the original spirit present to help house my collective. But I was a stranger to them. I would always propose to help them get back home, so long as they helped me as well. Most I talked to either refused, didn't believe me, or whose minds and bodies were already gone when I could reach them."

A little less sour. A lot more hopeful.

"This was the first possible chance I had. His body was intact, kept safely within the strange structures created by the Human. His mind lingered, refusing to leave his place."

Steve sees that day again. The hardest choice he's ever had to make. Unknowingly the smartest one he ever will.

"I made my proposal, and he was the first to agree. I was unsure this would work, but he trusted me, so it did. I was barely functioning when I found you two in the woods. He recognized you, and helped me find this place."

Its voice tapers out, letting the moments prior speak for it. They stare at each other again, Steve unable to keep his face from falling into the pitiful desperation he's felt since waking up.

"So... that means you're, like- the original hive mind?"

"Yes."

"And... Eddie, is he-"

It nods. "Alive, yes."

Pain be damned, Steve can't help it. His control crumbles to pieces, uninjured hand coming up to cover his mouth. His face compresses, eyes shut tight to keep the tears contained. Guilt and confusion and fear and worry and relief falling from his eyes.

Eddie is alive, Eddie is alive, Eddie is alive, Eddie is alive...

"And... c-can he..." Steve's voice shudders, struggling to take in a solid breath. "Can he hear me?"

The vaguely guilty expression comes back as it shakes its head. "No. He would need to be in control for that. My presence keeps the injuries away, and if he were to have control, they would affect the body again." Well, that explains the glowing scars. "He cannot hear or see, but I can talk to him for you."

Steve has dreamed and feared for a chance like this. Every single hour of every day within every week that has passed since Eddie last spoke to him, since he found Dustin cradling Eddie's body, since he covered the body in blankets in Eddie's trailer in the Upside Down. Yet faced with the option, Steve is hit with so many possibilities, so many things to say and messages from their friends to relay, that he stumbles.

"Well- I- maybe..." Steve pauses, lets his brain fumble for the words. "Could you just- tell him I miss him? We all do? And-and that I'm... sorry. God, I'm so fucking sorry..."

He says that last one in a barely there whisper, partially to himself as the weight of everything crashes over him again. Not only did they lose against Vecna - lost Eddie and half of Hawkins and basically Max too - but they hardly did anything, everything just getting so much worse. And the fact that even the original ruler of the world that's been tormenting them hasn't even done any of this, has suffered just as much as them, losing its people and world and body, that its only saving grace was Eddie, that Eddie's mind lingered after his death for reasons Steve can only assume was him waiting for help...

He chokes a little on his breath.

The God/spirit thing doesn't say anything, and when Steve looks up from where his eyes had drifted away, it's just staring at the edge of the boat. The strange part is how its eyes have changed, the pale part in the center glowing brighter. Sort of reminds Steve of that look you get when you're zoned out, in your own head. Which actually makes a lot of sense in this case.

It's silent for a moment before it starts speaking again. "Eddie says, quote, 'I'm glad to hear you're okay, Steve. Thanks for the save.'" Though its voice is still monotone, knowing it's at least Eddie's words being said to him makes the relief spike again, makes him jittery. Steve lets out a stuttering, involuntary laugh.

"'I miss you guys too. Like, a lot. And you have nothing to be sorry for, I'm the one who should be apologizing.'" It goes to take in a breath, and it shudders on the way. Its eyebrows furrow again, not in guilt, but in confusion. It keeps going, but it looks like breathing is becoming hard for it.

"'I broke off from the plan, I wanted to s-stop running.'" Now it's stuttering. The words and visibly growing confusion make Steve more alert, and he sits up a little straighter.

"'I just had t-to keep D-Dus-Dustin safe, and-'" It's starting to look borderline scared now, eyes still just as faraway but moving to look at its hands, which have begun shaking. "'I n-needed to keep the... the bats away from y-you, and-and...'"

It goes to blink, and Steve sees the reflection of the glowing scars shine on the tears suddenly falling from its eyes. It cautiously brings up a hand, gently touching the wetness on its cheek and staring at the streaks it leaves behind. It goes to talk again, but all that comes out are tiny whimpers, which just scares it more.

Then it clicks. The spirit of the Upside Down may be in control of Eddie's body, but nothing could take control of his heart. This is Eddie leaking through the cracks, his true feelings breaking through the barrier of monotone and unfeeling, too strong to be contained. And the spirit - probably unaware of human emotion, based on its reaction - is left in its wake.

Cautiously, Steve reaches out to take the hand it's still staring at. Its eyes immediately snap up to meet his, fear to concern. Its eyes are still a bit brighter, and for some reason it feels like Steve's looking straight through them to Eddie.

"Is it okay if... I hug you?" he asks carefully. "I think you could use one." Who he's referring to there is beyond him, but either way, it's true.

It just looks a little more confused, trying to respond yet held back by the whimpers. So it just shakily nods instead.

Still careful with how he moves, Steve reaches up with his free hand to rest on its shoulder. Then, letting go of the hand he didn't realize was holding his so tightly, he pulls the body into his, wrapping his arms around its neck.

The spirit stiffens up at first, its breath hitching in a tiny squeak and hands staying firmly away from contact. Steve just squeezes tighter, the soreness in his eye and jaw fighting the involuntary movement of Steve's face twisting in grief.

"It's okay, Eds..." Steve whispers. He shuts his eyes, holds the body closer. "Let it happen. It's okay."

It shudders out a few more tentative breaths. Steve feels its shaking arms slowly lose steam, inching down to meet Steve's back. Feels its tensed spine loosen, chin gently resting on Steve's shoulder. Its arms finally wrap around Steve's middle, run across his spine, and that's what gets it to break. Eddie's heart overpowers the mind, and he begins to cry.

The moment the first sob comes out, Eddie's arms squeeze hard, clutching onto Steve to keep himself from falling over. Steve feels him sag into his chest, hiding his cries in Steve's torn clothes. Tears come to Steve's eyes as well, weak to Eddie's sharp hitches of breath and the muffled cries that he can feel punch out of Eddie's chest. Steve squeezes back, fights the aches that persist in his face, and holds Eddie through it.

It takes a few minutes - maybe longer, Steve kind of lost track - but eventually, Eddie's cries die down, and his breathing evens out. His tense arms gently loosen their hold, and his body sags just a tiny bit further in relief. Steve doesn't try to let go yet, though, not until Eddie's hands slowly slide up to his shoulders and squeeze once. He takes it as a sign and pulls away carefully, keeping a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

Eddie's rubbing his eyes when Steve lets go, and as he blinks the tears away, Steve watches the glowing white center dull back down, watches Eddie fade away from the helm. The spirit, back in control, wipes at the remaining face mess with its sleeve, taking deep breaths to get itself right again.

Steve doesn't expect it's crackled, "End quote." to actually make him laugh in such a time, but laugh he does. Hard enough to push a few more tears out and hide the pain in his face beneath the elation. He carefully wipes his face dry, turning back to the, once again, blank-faced spirit, whispering a soft, "Thank you."

The spirit nods, and Steve thinks he sees the tiniest hint of a smile as it does. "Thank you, too. I wasn't expecting something like... that to happen."

Steve huffs out another laugh. "Neither did I," he admits, looking away as a wave of shame suddenly passes through him. "Sorry, about all that. It was the only thing I could think of to calm you down."

He sees the spirit shake its head in his peripheral, urging him to face it again. "Do not apologize. It worked as you intended." It's eyes briefly divert from Steve's, before it cautiously reaches out a hand to rest over Steve's on the edge of the boat. "If it soothes you, I sense that Eddie could feel it as well."

Steve's heart flounders, relief surging so strongly that he can't help the smile no matter how his jaw aches. Looks right into the spirit's eyes and takes the faint glow at the center as a little bit of Eddie always shining through. "Good to know."

#WOW college and mental illness were kicking my ass something fierce this last month #but finally possessed eddie is back >:] featuring breakdown and lore dump !!#half tempted to give the entire story on eddie's situation #but also i trust yall will get it as we go along #don't ask me about the specifics of steve's injuries either #dude's just hurt that's all you gotta know #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things au #steddie #steve x eddie #< target audience #bc of course

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